Anchor bolts have found a wide range of uses in society. These fasteners are characterized by a shaft which defines an axis of radial symmetry which terminates at a tip. The shaft is formed to radially expand outward reaching a maximum diameter at the tip. A collar is slidably disposed around the shaft and has a diameter which is less than the diameter of the shaft at the tip. These anchor bolts are embedded in a hardened structure, such as concrete, and are specifically designed to resist removal once embedded. In this respect, the collar is formed to engage the surrounding structure and axially resists axial movement of the shaft once the expanded tip portion impinges upon the collar. Such anchor bolts have found common use for power racking or pallet racking in which the bolts are embedding in concrete flooring such as in warehouses. Typically the bolts used in such applications range from one-half to five-eighths of an inch in diameter and six to eleven inches in length. Anchor bolts are also commonly found in much larger sizes and may be used t5o attach base supports for street lamp posts, for example. The bolts may be formed of various metals, which include galvanized steel. The anchor bolts have exposed threaded ends which facilitate threaded engagement therewith. Such bolts are frequently required to be removed and/or eliminated when not utilized. Prior art methods of removal include cutting-off the exposed ends and grinding the shaft flush with the surrounding structure or floor. Alternately, the entire anchor element is removed utilizing a conventional core drilling method known in the prior art. Such prior art methods, however, are labor intensive and time consuming. Similarly, other embedded fasteners such as bolts, screws, nails, spikes and other elongate shaped members may be required to be removed and are subject to similar labor intensive and time-consuming methods of removal.
As such, there exists a need in the art of an apparatus for efficiently removing embedded fasteners, wherein the apparatus is relatively inexpensive to manufacture and easy to operate.